ex515fandomcom-20200213-history
Plautdietsch phonetics
Mennonite Low German has many sounds, including a few not found in other varieties of Low German. Consonants Where symbols for consonants occur in pairs, the left represents the voiceless consonant and the right represents the voiced consonant. Observations: According to the spelling system of De Bibel these sounds are spelled as follows: # and as in Kjoakj ('church') and Brigj ('bridge') # no letter, but has to be used if a word that begins with a vowel or a prefix is added to a word which by itself starts with a vowel: ve'achten (to despise) # as in Kjinja ('children') # as in Hunga ('hunger') # could be written or : Fada ('male cousin'), Voda ('father'). The only criteria is the spelling of these words in German. is spelled as in German: Wota ('water') # at the beginning of a word and between vowels is written : sajen ('to say'), läsen ('to read'). The sound is written at the beginning of a word (where some speakers pronounce it ), between vowels and final after a short vowel: Zocka ('sugar'), waussen ('to grow'), Oss ('ox'). At the end of a word after a long vowel or consonant both are written , the reader has to know the word to pronounce the correct sound: Hos ('rabbit'), Os ('carrion'). The combination of a short and a voiced adds still more confusion to this, as in the word Kos ('goat'). # and as in School ('school') and ruzhen ('rush'). and represent and at the beginning of a word and if a prefix is attached to a word starting with or : spälen ('to play') bestalen ('to order'). # as in Joa ('year'). The sound is written after consonants, , and : Erfolch ('success'), Jesecht ('face'), Jewicht ('weight'), läach ('low'). After , it is written to differentiate it from : rajcht ('right') # is written , only occurs after back vowels: Dach ('day'), Loch ('hole'). (an allophone of ) is rendered between vowels and final: froagen ('to ask'), vondoag ('today'). At the beginning of a word and before consonants, g has the sound. # is a flap (like the Spanish r), or depending on the person, even a trill (like Spanish ), before vowels: root ('red'), groot ('big'), Liera ('teacher'); pronounced as an approximant (English r) before a consonant, at the end and in the -ren endings of Old Colony speakers: kort ('short'), ar ('her'), hieren ('to hear'). The uvular German r is not heard in Plautdietsch. # is an allophone of that occurs after vowels in words like Baul and well. Vowels The vowel inventory of Plautdietsch is large, with 13 simple vowels, 10 diphthongs and 1 thriphthong. # is rounded and is heard only in the Old Colony and Bergthal groups. # is an allophone of preceding an or a palatal consonant. The sound has been shifted to in the Old Colony dialect, leaving the sound only as part of the ua diphthong. However, in certain areas and age groups, there is a heavy tendency to shift sound up to . Pronunciation of certain vowels and diphthongs vary from some speakers to others; the diphthong represented by ee for instances is pronounced or even by some. Likewise the long vowels represented by au and ei might have a diphthong glide into and , respectively. * English sound equivalents are approximate. Long vowels ä and o do not have a diphthong glide.